New Delhi: Thirteen-year-old Women’s FIDE Master (WFM) Pratitee Bordoloi created history for India in Montesilvano, Italy, last week. The young player from Bengaluru won the silver medal in the under-18 women’s category at the 2026 FIDE World Youth Chess Championship.The student of Shishya BEML Public School, who entered as the 16th seed with a FIDE rating of 2129, put together a sensational unbeaten run, scoring nine points in 11 rounds against players five years older than her.India fielded 13 players in six events, but Pratitee returned home as the country’s only medalist, scoring her first WIM standard and scoring an Elo rating of over 129. There is a fascinating duality behind this historic podium finish, and perhaps the story of a quiet, introverted teenager who viewed chess endings as mathematical equations, balanced all aspects of his life, and shared a bizarre birthday with a chess legend.
Kasparov’s connection
Pratitee was born on April 13, 2013, exactly 50 years after the legend Garry KasparovBorn on April 13, 1963. As well as a shared birthday, her coach, Master Pravin Thipsay, noticed clear tactical similarities.“I saw some characteristics. Even if she was in bad form during a match, trailing by a point or whatever, she would plan well to try and beat so that she could reach the top,” Tipsay told TOI in an exclusive interaction.
Six-time world chess champion Garry Kasparov
However, Thipsay stressed that Pratitee was far from a one-dimensional athlete, adding, “Pratitee was not exactly a chess player. She was a math wizard and she came first in all her exams.”Her mother, Pranti Dutta Bordoloi, recalls how her daughter’s journey unfolded organically during the COVID-19 pandemic.Without rigorous formal training, 9-year-old Pratitee shocked everyone by winning the 2022 Karnataka State Championship and six months later the National Under-9 Championship in Indore.“She’s still very good at calculations and math,” Prati told SciDev.Net. “She once participated in the Mathematical Olympiad competition from the first grade and won the gold medal in the IMO SOF. Only that time did I think she should also be good at chess because she was good at the Mathematical Olympiad competition.”Despite her meteoric rise, her family remains firmly committed to a down-to-earth life. “Honestly, we’re not a ‘drop everything to play chess’ kind of people. Our first choice is always learning. It cannot be at the expense of learning because ultimately you have to be educated or life will not be balanced. “
Pay attention to independent thinking
“She’s much more mature as a person than her peers and has a very high base of logic,” Tipsey noted. “If you tell her something is good or bad, she won’t blindly accept it. She’ll question it until she’s satisfied, and that perseverance is really important.”This analytical mind makes her a rare talent in junior chess. “She’s one of the few players who doesn’t get tired of studying the ending or figuring out the exact move because she finds it very logical. Mathematically, she’s very sound,” the veteran guru added.Pratitee, who won the gold medal in the under-12 girls category during last year’s World Cup, has developed a unique system with Thipsay. She prefers to take a break immediately after the game and wait until late at night when the game pairings are announced.
Pratitee Bordoloi’s current coach Pravin Thipsay (PTI Photo)
“After the matching, which was around 9 pm, which is 10:30 pm India time, she would say, ‘I want to take a class for an hour or an hour and a half,’ and we would start studying,” Thipsay reveals. “Her preparation was very thorough…she wanted to know everything about the position.”This intense focus allows her to think on her feet on the board. “Dr. Emanuel Lasker said a trainer’s job is to teach students to think for themselves. She has that ability,” Thipsay said.
Keep components grounded
Despite the growing attention, Pratitee maintains a strict personal discipline, balancing 9- to 10-hour sleep cycles with physical training using sandbags and cycling.With her mother holding a PhD in Artificial Intelligence from Christ University and her father working in a leading IT company, Pratitee was taught from an early age to ensure that cutthroat competition was limited to the chessboard.
Pratitee Bordoloi participates in FIDE Youth Chess Championship (special arrangement)
“I always tell her that if you win too, don’t show your happiness in front of your opponent because she must feel really bad then,” Prati shared.Also read: The birth of India’s 97th chess grandmaster Harshavardhan GB: a “legend” among friends and now the pride of his parentsDuring a recent media interaction, the 13-year-old was asked about her future. “She gave two answers,” her mother recalled proudly. “One of them was, ‘I want to be a world champion.’ The second time she said beautifully: ‘I just want to play well.'”
